The one thing that moves more quickly than in-flight entertainment (IFE) technology is passengers’ expectations. Not long ago, we were happy to have a monitor in the back of the seat in front. Now we want to stop, start and pause, play games and have our pick of the latest movies, as well as select from hundreds of audio options. And that’s only the beginning.

Along with manufacturer Thales Group (see “Let me entertain you”, Business Traveller, November 2008), Panasonic Avionics Corporation is a major supplier of IFE systems to the airline industry. According to Neil James, the company’s executive director of corporate sales and product management, today’s rapid advances are down to the ability to store more content on board.

“Systems now have up to a terabyte of storage capability, and are also high-definition and widescreen-capable,” he says. “They also have picture-in-picture ability, so you can keep track of the moving map while watching something else.”

The moving map – still the most popular option on IFE systems – is a good example of how things have advanced. The new systems can provide flight data, zoom capability and various resolutions. So what else will we be seeing soon?

Websites

To view a website on your screen, the aircraft doesn’t have to be connected to the internet in real time. Cached versions can be uploaded at the gate prior to take-off for passengers to surf on board. When the aircraft next reaches the gate, the website is updated and the information on page impressions downloaded.

For example, an airline might have a cached version of its website on board for passengers to change their preferences, make enquiries about flights, or even provide feedback on the flight they are on. This information would then be downloaded on landing, allowing the airline to collect details about the passenger as well as increase traffic to its site.

Magazines

Airlines can provide a library of magazines digitally, including duty-free brochures that allow 3D visuals of the objects on sale, a far greater range of goods than can be carried on board, and home delivery. In the future, you may even be able to download a magazine on to a plastic flipbook, which could be plugged into a USB socket.

Connectivity

This is the key to providing access to websites and email, and whatever we think about the use of mobile phones on board, according to Panasonic’s James, connectivity will be “ubiquitous”. In part, this is down to the airline’s avionics equipment – if the aircraft is connected for operational reasons, why not use that to provide services for the passenger? It also allows for useful facilities such as real-time credit card validations for onboard purchases.

This isn’t the first time connectivity has been offered – the Connexion by Boeing service gave passengers wifi on their laptops, but was discontinued in 2006 after a lack of take-up. It’s something James thinks the new system can overcome. “Previous business models relied on having worldwide coverage from a series of satellites that were all lit up simultaneously, so there was always going to be an issue with take-up rates to make it economical, he explains. “Our approach is to buy the bandwidth by the drink, and we agree with the satellite provider that we only light them up when we need to. Satellite antennae technology has also moved on tremendously.”

How we will access the web and our emails might be up to the airlines, but what’s certain is that as the cost of providing the service comes down, more travellers will benefit. “The airline can choose how to use the bandwidth, so they can allow certain things and not others, such as streaming videos,” James says. “It can also choose whether to have browsing from the seat through the IFE system, or via laptops.”

Gaming

Whether we are travelling with children, or are children at heart ourselves, the games being offered on IFE systems are more sophisticated than ever, and there are hundreds to choose from. Although it’s possible for games such as chess to be played via touchscreen, IFE providers pride themselves on having handsets that satisfy the needs of gamers. “The layout of the buttons, the squash pads and the tactile feel are all done in the same way as you’d expect to find on most gaming sticks,” James says.

USB

All the new systems can provide a USB for peripherals such as keyboards, mice and games controllers. While it’s not yet possible to stream video from an iPod, you can view pictures and documents (see picture below). The USB can also be used for charging devices.

Next year, Panasonic Avionics is launching Karma (see picture below right), a handset about the size of an iPhone. It has a touchscreen in the middle so you can watch a movie on the main screen and still have the moving map on display. It can be turned into a phone, it knows its orientation and it has accelerometers built in, so you can use it to play games.

On low-cost airlines, we might end up having to pay for a lot of this technology. “They can charge for a movie, for games or to access the system,” James says. “We also support rich media for advertising so they can see if it was a click-through or if the passenger watched the advert.”

What’s next?

So what will the next generation of systems look like? “The fundamentals never go away – safety, reliability, power, weight and size. The airlines are driving us hard on all of these,” James says. “We want to give the passenger as much room as possible, particularly in economy, and the new super-light seats can’t house the older electronic systems, so we are reducing weight and space.” Systems will also consume less power.

Panasonic is keen for the new technologies to be adopted as soon as possible. That includes MPEG-4 (compressed video files) on the aircraft; closed captioning, allowing full descriptions for deaf or hard-of-hearing people; and new OLED screens, which consume less power, are light and thin, and allow passengers to view their own media devices on high-resolution screens.

“There will also be a new range of 3D moving maps, and we are investigating technologies for headsets providing surround sound,” James says. And high definition will arrive “within the next year”, something the new 15-, 23- and 32-inch screens will be able to display.

Technology aside, what systems offer in the future will depend on what customers want. James says: “We are in the middle of defining our ten-year roadmap for IFE and are getting ready to launch a new generation of systems. We’re looking at things such as micro-gaming, the idea of mobile devices becoming the remote for one’s life, and virtual worlds. There’s a whole bunch of emerging technologies we keep tabs on.”

In fact, the only thing holding back progress is the state of the airline industry, which has never faced such difficult circumstances. “We wish the industry could support changing the systems more often but, realistically, airlines expect 15 years out of them,” James says. As a result, Panasonic tries to anticipate what will be needed in the future without adding too much cost.

“We try to ensure our systems have long legs, but there comes a time when we have to say there’s been a sea change in technology and we need to go to a completely different model,” he says.

Visit panasonic.aero